This week on the blog we wanted to explore some coastal alternatives to the “traditional” fall decorating that we all know, while also keeping that familiar change of the seasons feeling that we all love! Living in Florida sometimes it can be kind of tough to incorporate seasonal decor into a home when it is always feels like the endless summer. So we have broken down some of Athena’s favorite fall recipes and projects so your home can be coastal, festive and stylish of course!

Two’s Company provides everything for fall from dish towels to home decor. Check out Twos Company and purchase through your exclusive dealer Odyssey Interior Design! Click here to visit more fall trends

Pictured to the right is Athena designing a custom rug with our vendor Fabrica! Each loop color is hand picked through the process to insure the end result meets exactly what the client wants. It’s Athena’s discerning eye which focuses on each detail that makes Odyssey stand above the rest! Area rugs act as an anchor to a room as they pull all of the furniture together. Whether it be subtle or outrageous the perfect area rug can compliment the surrounding environment by bringing in the color tones of the rest of the house, creating a feeling of unity between each piece of furniture no matter how eclectic they may be.

Athena encourages you to not to be deceived by different qualities of “oriental rugs.” If you are in the market for one of your own make sure you go to a trusted vendor. Fine orientals can hold there value just like a piece of art and sometimes your investment can stay the same or even go up in value depending on how it ages, the region it comes from and the materials your rug is made from. Today there are so many impostors that use bamboo and other synthetic materials as silk and tufting is swapped in the lingo in replace of “handwoven” or “knotted.” If you are in the market for a inexpensive, easy to live with area rug consider the fibers that they are made from for easy clean ability and a weave that wont pull, snag or tear. Other than those two lessons have fun with your color and style and give your feet a break from hard surfaces for a soft feeling under foot!

Every project finished by our team is something that we are all very proud of so we thought we’d share with you! Pictured below is Athena’s most recently completed project. A beach inspired home away from home for some great clients! 8 Foot ceilings looking higher and more volumized than ever, bamboo wall coverings, and illuminated mirrors in the bathrooms to give state of the art and ideal lighting. Some of the natural elements contrasted with the more modern features takes this coastal cottage to the next level. It’s all about the intricate details with Athena and that’s what makes her work so unique and valued in the design world. Have any ideas you want to share? Questions you want to ask? We would love to hear from you! Message us and we will be sure to reply in a timely manner!

Here at Odyssey we love new and inventive ways to spruce up our garden with a relaxed feel of coastal cottage vibes. Boot Planters, Tin Flower Pots, and tons of tropical plants are a few of the many ways to complete and transform the look of our container garden here at the studio. The best part of this little project is that it is way easier than you think! Thanks to Seems Like Yesterday (our in store boutique and online store) you can finally have your own dream garden, a place to relax and make your own. It doesn’t have to stop there! Customize your whole patio area to suit your needs and style. Odyssey Interior Design carries outdoor furnishing brands such as Winston Furniture, Eastern Accent Linens, and Creative Coop to add that personalized feel you want to come to. Have any other ideas you want to share? Questions you want to ask? We would love to hear from you! Message us and we will be sure to reply in a timely manner! Pictured below are a few of our favorite garden essentials that we have out front of our boutique. These accessories give a warm and welcoming feel to whoever walks in our door!

We use flower buckets and boot planters to add cute cottage style to our studio.

These boots aren’t made for walking, but they are made for growing your flowers!

As time goes by and our kids are growing and getting more independent there are more “chefs in the kitchen” then when JR and I were the only ones who knew where things were and where to put things back. There was a time when we had to help them retrieve food or utensils, to bath products and clothing. Now we have independent young people growing up with chores to empty the dishwasher and put things away to running through the kitchen with their friends to grab and prep their own snacks and food. Before their “help” we were used to the game of Tetris it took to fit the pots and pans, bowls or just about anything really that needed to be put away or pulled from. Relief came from simple pairing down to our most commonly used utensils, clothing, and “other stuff” and donating the rest. But this inspired feeling that comes from the cleansing is a short lived without organization. I love when my clients have developed the same desire for organization, that is one of the fun parts of my job! Other decorators may say its the basil container on the counter for decor, though the fresh scent of basil is a nice touch (if you can keep it alive), I like studying the kitchen layout and the best place for the utensils, to the hidden pullout drawers and pantries that can make even the “Take Out Cooks”, look and feel like an organized pro chef in their own domain! The same goes for mudrooms, laundry rooms and especially bathrooms. I have designed hidden outlets behind the pullout drawers for instant access to the electric shaver or hairdryer for grab and use and what else… put away…yeah!!

So next time you have the chance to do remodel or build new: take the time to really think about what you need, how you want to live. Sadly I see these brand new multi-million dollar homes; built with empty shelled cabinets, looks pretty in the moment but have no real life function. In a few cases I have even seen new kitchens with no thought or place for the garbage can, that shouldn’t happen, these aren’t club houses, they are full functioning homes. We should not only look good but feel good too. Take the time, ask for those hidden perks of storage, otherwise known as “cabinet accessories”, or as Mouser refers to them; “Cabinet Conveniences”. Better yet, next time you need a new kitchen or other cabinetry, call me to be your designer, we have designed and provided our Mouser Custom Cabinets not only all over Naples, Bonita and Boca Grande but for our clients stretching as far as North Carolina, Maryland and Connecticut. Remember my motto “not just a style, its a lifestyle!!”

A special thank-you to our friends, clients, artisans, workrooms and gifted tradesmen that worked with us this year to accomplish meaningful and successfully completed projects throughout 2015! As we wrap up the year and think about engaging into new projects of 2016 we feel extremely blessed to have such a great team and wonderfully supportive clients. We appreciate you and thank-you in every capacity that you have been a part of Odyssey Interior Design.

Its been a remarkable year of growth with the introduction of Seems Like Yesterday and we appreciate your support with the endeavor of adding a beautiful and bountiful boutique of home goods and lovely personal items to the environment of our design studio.

Worth the visit if you haven’t seen us lately!

From all of us at Odyssey Interior Design, we wish you and your family the best of health, good times and great memories this Christmas with

To be honest, I have to say I battled with the concept that to be recognized as a great Interior Designer, it had nothing to do with “chatzkies” and candles; to be a true designer it was the proof of being the best at floor plans, well thought out elevations, great architectural elements and perfect fitting custom designed furniture, not napkin rings and linens!

As I have grown in my pursuit to be recognized as a designer who truly knows and understands conceptual space, can draw and do impromptu perspectives with the construction knowledge to back it up, I’m noticing after 20-plus years that a lot of people know me as the go to for great Interior Design!

Yet how about decor, about the cute pretty stuff, am I the baker and someone else does the icing…?!

With the world of HGTV and the instant gratification of before-and-after’s in ½ an hour, I grew to realize that I needed to let my inner decor shine and show the plethora of vendors and manufacturers that as a design firm we have always had access to but did not have the environment to promote it. What was funnier is that I was asked on more than one occasion when we developed Seems Like Yesterday and remodeled our design environment into a bountiful boutique, if I were quitting design to pursue a shop? How incredibly awkward! Was it that I was truly only recognized as an “interior architect” of sorts? After all, I had done so many condos and several large home remodels that included my vision for exterior elevations and major landscape over hauls and spent most days in meetings with engineers and contractors, from bottoms of pool shells to tops of ladders, not often delivering silk flowers and cute picture frames. I am proud that I cleared myself of any presumed “Interior Desecrator” assumptions (which most subcontractors and trades people call Interior “decorators”) and people introduce me that way; “she’s not a decorator…she’s a designer….” What is funnier is the look of relief from subcontractor’s faces when I could truly answer their questions or diffuse misunderstandings between trades.

It has been an interesting travelled road to bring our boutique, Seems Like Yesterday, to life. I am excited about the vendors, the inventory and the product I personally select. There isn’t anything we buy that I can’t see wanting to own and take home myself, so it’s all very personal and I feel very proud of each item we stock in the studio. In fact, it feels like adoption when a client comes to take things away from the studio…I love to see it go to a good home and I’m sad to see it go all at the same time!

Seems Like Yesterday is a boutique within our studio that allows our clients to complete their vision, not just lines on a page, but to be able to see resembling examples of window treatments, bedding, lighting and art which does help complete the story and environment my drawings promote.

My drafting table is always hosting a great solution to a floor plan and solving tricky elevations around crazy existing circumstances that requires improved design solutions. However, there is more to this business and that is fulfilling the end result of the environment. As our Motto says “It’s more than just a style…it’s a lifestyle!” So I have embraced the pretties, bling, the flowers, candles and art but as our clients have heard me say “let’s not put lipstick on a pig!” I will not sacrifice proper design, scale, materials, furniture, furnishings and equipment or proper working environment in my ultimate pursuit of great Interior Design for each of our clients!

Love this place! Another successful Interior Design project and proud of it! This home turned out great for this family of four to enjoy awesome winters in Naples, Florida! Cool colors with warm intentions this house surpasses any model home with its unique and individual flair. The home presents itself with the grace of a high end residence with all of the details but has all the welcome signs that say, “Come in and stay a while!”

We used mostly natural fibers of cotton and linen blends with prints of bright lime hues with grey undertones, natural colored case goods with vintage rub through finishes and accessories with organic appeal to soften the otherwise edgy white lines of the built-ins, high ceilings and open spaces. The lighting fixtures are bold, unique and even bit industrial adding a statement and proper scale to each environment. All of the upholstery is exclusively from our Seems Like Yesterday line with custom selected fabrics. Window treatments are simply done with cartridge folds on rods; double rods are used in some instances for traversing sheers to add privacy yet still offer tons of light, with the pool side simply graced in stationary side panels to maximize the openings and to add the color needed take your eye around the huge open concept living space.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so stop reading here and please enjoy our latest finished project from Odyssey.

The words in my dream as I awoke were repeating loud and clear…”you own Seems Like Yesterday…you own Seems like Yesterday…”

First thing I did that morning was incorporate Seems Like Yesterday and bought the domain name and put the issue to rest. However the idea couldn’t rest, every time I saw a cute vintage chair or acquired another Singer Sewing machine (my weakness, I have 4 Singers and a vintage Sears?! I know what you are thinking…Why??…) the idea of what to do with Seems Like Yesterday…the business I was supposed to own according to my dream, was just brewing.

JR realized that I was not stopping with this “dream” until we had a small area of our design studio cleared away for a “little” vintage boutique corner. What I didn’t realize, is that when my husband got the bug, the corner grew into the entrance area, then our meeting room and when that area was ripped out and shaping up, everything else started looking horrible so the whole office got the boot! For my clients during that time and you know you are, THANK-YOU for your patients as we searched through disorganized mountains of fabric books and catalogues to find that perfect color!!

By this time, the awesome “colonial coastal” millwork was being installed, a perfectly beachy white built in was on its way from Mouser Custom Cabinets, wide white wood floors and Statuary white marble was being installed and new products were ordered to fill the studio! Seems Like Yesterday went from a quaint vintage corner idea to being the entire concept for our Interior Design studio!

I had been vetting manufacturers for years to establish a relationship with our own upholstery workroom from N.C., (a region deeply inherited with American Made tradition of furniture construction) discovering that our clients LOVED our upholstery and always praised the quality and comfort; our private label was born and the studio now had room to boast our own Upholstery Line: “Seems Like Yesterday “

With our own upholstery line now setting the stage (and comfort) of our design studio, we wanted to make sure our clients could see and feel the quality of the products we love and selected choice items to grace the boutique. Odyssey’s clients have confidence in their purchases; what was only visible by catalogue or tiny square swatches is now on display, boasting the workmanship and quality!

Dream coming true right? Almost there…..

Seems Like Yesterday needed an identity and since we live and serve the residents of the best beach in the country (maybe my bias)…A vintage “coastal” boutique was born!! While many local shops may have one or two treasures, maybe even touristy, our coastal friends have to work hard to find that perfect classy coastal décor, not anymore! Luxury, good quality, designer styling, from pearls to pillows, we offer pretty to humor. My goal with all of our products of Seems Like Yesterday is to impress that its “More than a style…It’s a lifestyle”. We offer custom high end quality not found in the box stores with a twist of humor for real life! Those who know me as their friend, as their designer, know I have expensive taste, very discerning about quality, and pride in perfection…all while comfort first; in my favorite blue jeans and a pair of flip flops!

And the answer is YES! We are still busy doing Interior Design; follow us on Facebook and join my blog to keep seeing amazing projects and interesting insight on Interior Design. Visit the Odyssey Interior Design website for more info or indulge yourself and your friends with the products from Seems Like Yesterday.